Tribe of Volcom: Spring 2011 Swim Fashion Show

July 23, 2010

The scene: The Orange County diffusion of the hipster species (same cool kid style but add crunchy sun-bleached hair and deep tan as requisite accessories) traveled en masse to downtown Los Angeles and mingled with L.A.’s scruffy East Side hipster set for Volcom’s Swim 2011 fashion show held July 15 at the Cooper Design Space.

While most of the swim industry is in Miami for Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Swim happening right now (including Volcom’s sales team), the brand decided to make the 2011 swim collection’s runway debut in L.A. and open the RSVP list for the public to see it first. Last year, Volcom showed their 2010 swim collection in a “smaller scale” event at the brand’s headquarters in Costa Mesa.

“This is definitely a step up,” said Suzanne Vallely, Volcom’s swim designer. “We want to get the buzz out, we wanted to get our name known. We wanted them to realize that we are in the swimwear business and we’re serious about it. We want them to be excited.”

If the heavy attendance from Volcom’s loyal Kool-Aid drinkers is any indication, mission accomplished. The cavernous space was filled to the brim with the brassy kind of girls that treat bikini tops if they are real clothes and dudes that radiate stoke because its open bar and they’re bro-hugging friends they haven’t seen in weeks because they like, just got back from shredding in Mexico or Costa Rica or El Salvador or whatever. On the runway Vallely had fun with an “anything goes” approach that drew upon “music, nature, pop art, butterfly wings, florals, tropicals” as inspiration. The most stunning looks were the one-piece suits (many of which where made specially for the show), like a bustier maillot with denim panels, a one-piece with Chevron stripes and a black monokini with the Volcom Stone logo cut out in sheer mesh.

Musician and stylist Jennifer Herrema—whose denim collabo with Volcom hit stores in June—piled more tribal flavor on top of the tribal theme by adding beaded necklaces and jewelry that were made in Africa.—Rhea Cortado